Chamber Blog
~ June 2013

You are no doubt aware of the floods that have taken place in Alberta. The media have described over the past week how the rivers rose, crested and devastated parts of the province.

Throughout this period The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been in touch with chambers in the province. The challenges for the province's business community are evident. Businesses are turning to their chambers for assistance. As the voices of business in their regions, the chambers in affected communities are trying to do their very best to help out. But chamber offices themselves are also hard-hit by the damage. At this point, chambers in smaller communities are called upon to be more than a voice of business – they are service points for all of their local residents.

On behalf of the networks of local chambers of commerce and boards of trade serving communities affected by the past week’s flooding, today, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Alberta Chambers of Commerce called on governments to respond swiftly and effectively to the needs of businesses—particularly small and medium-size businesses—to help ensure their survival and the ongoing prosperity of the communities they support.

The effects will be felt well beyond the flooded areas themselves. The disaster has damaged buildings and destroyed inventory and financial records. It continues to prevent many businesses from restoring operations. Our members employ tens of thousands of Canadians. While it is too early to assess the exact economic impact of the flooding, governments must address the needs of business in their assistance, recovery and reconstruction plans.

The devastation wreaked by the floods in Southern Alberta touches the hearts of people everywhere in Canada. Many of us have family, friends or colleagues in the region. We have been following the last few days’ events with great concern, and our hearts go out to the many Albertans who have been evacuated due to the floods that are affecting much of the province.

Although it is still too early to assess the full extent of the damage, the floods will have a very significant impact on businesses in the area, and particularly small and medium size businesses. Chambers of commerce are working hard to assist their members. For example, the Calgary Chamber has been asked to assist in understanding the scope of damage and impact to businesses in the downtown area.

The shortage of skilled workers that affects businesses throughout the country hits Canada’s territories particularly hard due to issues including their relative remoteness, cost of living and lack of infrastructure. In a recent letter, the Northwest Territories Chamber of Commerce corrects some of the myths of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the harm businesses and the territory’s economy could experience if it is made more difficult for employers to obtain the foreign workers they need when Canadians are not available.

Businesses on both sides of the border have to resist temptation and oppose any legislation containing any new or more stringent protectionist measures, such as Buy American, which create regulatory burdens, impede technology advancements and restrict market and job growth.

Canada and the U.S. have a long history of close cooperation on security and trade. Both governments have repeatedly recognized the need to strengthen the competitiveness of the North American market. Introducing any protectionist measures would hinder our competitiveness and increase costs to North American businesses and consumers.

The Canadian Chamber calls on the Canadian government to support this mandate and to see how similar approaches might apply to Canada’s international development policy, as the government seeks to identify synergies between our development and trade agendas. For our part, we are pleased to have recently supported a delegation of our members to join Julian Fantino, Minister for International Cooperation, on a recent trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with senior World Bank officials.

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